Rory McIlroy’s ally gets new job after making Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth fume

An ally of Rory McIlroy has been handed a new role in golf.

Rory McIlroy’s close ally Jimmy Dunne has become a member of the board at Troon Golf. The Wall Street dealmaker played a key role in brokering the deal between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf.

Dunne joined the PGA Tour’s policy board at the start of January 2023 and helped initiate discussions between the North American circuit and LIV Golf’s Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund backers

But he left his role in May after calling his input “utterly superfluous” and reportedly growing frustrated at the lack of progress at the time.

According to GolfMagic, Dunne sent a WhatsApp message to LIV chairman and PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan and joined several secret meetings to get the deal off the ground.

But several high-profile players, including Tiger Woods, Patrick Cantlay and Jordan Spieth, were said to be furious with Dunne for going behind players’ backs and proceeded to leave him out in the cold.

During his time on the policy board, Dunne reportedly attempted to pave the way for McIlroy to rejoin after the Northern Irishman quit in November 2023. But the four-time Major winner’s return was blocked.

And in a letter outlining his resignation, Dunne maintained that “no meaningful progress has been made towards a transaction with PIF” and that “my vote and my role is utterly superfluous” due to the fact player directors outnumbered the board’s independent directors.